The Los Angeles Lakers agreed to a trade Tuesday night, but it wasn’t the one many of their fans were hoping for.
Amid all the Anthony Davis talk, the Lakers agreed in principle to trade guard Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and a second-round draft pick to the Detroit Pistons for guard Reggie Bullock, a source confirmed to The Undefeated’s Marc Spears.
The deal gives LeBron James & Co. a much-needed 3-point threat.
Bullock, 27, is in his fourth season with the Pistons, averaging 12 points and shooting 38 percent on 6.6 3-point attempts per game.
According to Second Spectrum, Bullock is shooting 39.8 percent on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers this season. That would rank first among Lakers players with at least 50 catch-and-shoot 3s.
Detroit will create a $2.5 million trade exception with the deal. Bullock is in the final year of his contract, and the Lakers will inherit his Bird rights this summer.
Mykhailiuk, 21, was drafted by the Lakers with the 47th pick last year, and he is in the first year of a three-year, $4.6 million contract. The Pistons have until July 5 to guarantee his $1.4 million contract for the 2019-20 season. The former Kansas star is averaging 3 points in 10.7 minutes per game this season.
The NBA’s trade deadline is Thursday at 3 p.m. ET.
The Lakers have been in talks with the New Orleans Pelicans about Davis, the All-Star center. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday that Lakers president of basketball operations Magic Johnson wants the Pelicans to start making counterproposals to offers on Davis, threatening to end talks unless New Orleans shows a willingness to engage in a back-and-forth on reaching a deal.
The Athletic first reported the Lakers and Pistons were nearing an agreement on the Bullock deal.
Additional reporting from ESPN’s Bobby Marks was used in this report.